A spirited story of wartime skulduggery and romance in a house full of ghosts set in 1917.
Winter, 1917 and after three long years of the First World War the onslaught has taken on a remorseless momentum of its own leaving very few families untouched by its brutality. Against this backdrop with man and country alike changed by the horrors that have come to pass, in England every family is seeking solace, succour and fortification with no clear sign of an end in sight. At Blackwater Abbey, situated on a remote island off the Devon coast, Lord Francis Highmount is feeling his own culpability more poignantly than many given his role as the proprietor of Highmount Industries, the biggest armaments manufacturer in the country. Having lost two sons, Reginald and Algernon, to the offensive the rancour and hostility of his wife, Austrian born Elizabeth, has led to him arranging, under duress, a spiritualist gathering to contact the dead with two mediums, Madame Feda and Count Dmitri Orlov, in attendance to lead the gathering and conduct the séances. Meanwhile Lord Highmount has his own motivation for organising the weekend after top secret weapons plans belonging to his company ended up in the hands of the Germans, with the three potential suspects who could have been guilty due to attend the winter solstice weekend.
Lending a hand under orders from the Prime Minister is the Head of the Secret Intelligence Service, Captain Sir Edward Mansfield Smith-Cummings (known as ‘C’) who is leaving nothing to chance and sending two of his employees from Room 40; Miss Kate Cartwright of the War Office who is currently engaged in the monotonous code breaking of weather reports and a former Officer, known as “Donovan” who has seen action in the trenches and served with Kate’s presumed deceased brother, Arthur. Given the longstanding friendship between the Highmounts and Kate’s parents, Edward and Margaret Cartwright, the invitation had already been extended to the entire family and although Kate had turned it down C rather decides the matter for her. Despite having broken up with her fiancé, Captain Rolleston Miller-White, just five days previously it is heavily suggested that he should accompany her but given her precious engagement to Reginald Highmount and her parents have a low opinion of Miller-White it doesn’t bode well, especially with Kate able to see spirits and Miller-White a chief suspect as the potential spy in the camp. Throw in a doctor and a former soldier broken by the war and under his care, the daughter of the Highmount’s and a handful of staff and the gathering, or at least those that are known about, is complete.
As Donovan operates under the guise of being Captain Miller-White’s ‘man’ he is secretly charged with ensuring the safety of Lord Highmount and identifying the threat to country. Ably assisted in his deductive efforts by Kate, Donovan soon discovers that all of the invited guests have some reason for feeling ill disposed of Lord Highmount, with much of it related to his involvement in arming the nation. The motivation of each for feelings of animosity towards Lord Highmount are credible and entirely understandable and likewise the motivation for procuring the top secret plans and thereby assisting the enemy. An array of clues and red herrings lead Donovan and Kate closer to the answers they seek but with one unconscious and one dead amongst the house party guests it is a race against time.. But Kate and Donovan soon suspect they have an intruder in their midst and a potential accomplice lying in wait.. The variety of nefarious shenanigans on the island are highly engaging and uncovering the high jinks, which parties are in cahoots and those indulging in blackmail is well-conveyed but given its many complications perhaps a little distended with the potential to risk becoming confusing. With the raging storm, howling winds and treacherous sea making a crossing to the mainland an impossibility Blackwater Abbey is effectively cut off from outside assistance and together with direct attempts to sabotage making contact via the with telephone or attempting to utilise the launch, the chances of ascertaining outside help are all but negligible.
The double act of Kate and Donovan and their growing mutual admiration and warmth towards each other add a feel good element and jest to the unfolding drama. Undoubtedly it is their chemistry which oils the wheels as together with the elaborate explanations of who knew about various secrets passages and the convoluted process of elimination as to the whereabouts of all members of the party on numerous occasions the novel has the potential to be a little turgid and dry. I loved the tame nature of the Kate and Donovan romance (mischievous smiles, raised eyebrows, gentle repartee and innuendo) and thought it was wonderful because it was based on each other’s sharp intellect, courage and willingness to take calculated risks all in the spirit of the war effort. It was a pleasure to find a smart, sensible and feisty young woman just as capable, if not more, than her male counterparts.
Whilst I found the novel to be a light-hearted wartime romp and an engaging story I sadly found it lacking in atmosphere and genuine suspense. Given the abundance of spirits and meaningful reasons for ill feeling towards Lord Highmount and his own sense of culpability I had anticipated a palpable sense of unease which never quite transpired and it was only at the dining table and séance on the final evening that the undercurrents of tension between the group made themselves fully apparent. Likewise, given the prevalence of ghosts in the story was far in excess of any others novels I have read I was expecting a commensurate increase in claustrophobic tension, which also never materialised. Almost everybody in the house seemed to either know or learn in relatively short order that Donovan was on the island with the express mission of protecting Lord Highmount and was being assisted in some capacity by Miss Cartwright and so there really wasn’t much hush-hush about their efforts to identify the spy in their midst! Furthermore I wasn’t particularly won over by the numerous secret passageways, trapdoors and priests holes as my preference, in the “fair game” spirit of the locked room mystery, is for these to be strictly limited and keeping track of the architecture of the house is definitely not the most exciting part of the mystery.
Aside from the entertaining mystery element the novel does make readily apparent the enormous cost in terms of loss of life in a war in which the mental wounds were every bit as profound as the physical, with even those that did make it home alive bearing the mental scars. All told this is an engaging and spirited read with a well-worked mystery at its core and an unusual mash-up of an light-hearted espionage story set in house full of ghosts. William Ryan, however, does a stellar job of painting a picture of a grim and unremitting campaign that left very few, regardless of class, untouched by its brutality.
With thanks to Readers First who provided me with a free copy of this novel in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.
Lending a hand under orders from the Prime Minister is the Head of the Secret Intelligence Service, Captain Sir Edward Mansfield Smith-Cummings (known as ‘C’) who is leaving nothing to chance and sending two of his employees from Room 40; Miss Kate Cartwright of the War Office who is currently engaged in the monotonous code breaking of weather reports and a former Officer, known as “Donovan” who has seen action in the trenches and served with Kate’s presumed deceased brother, Arthur. Given the longstanding friendship between the Highmounts and Kate’s parents, Edward and Margaret Cartwright, the invitation had already been extended to the entire family and although Kate had turned it down C rather decides the matter for her. Despite having broken up with her fiancé, Captain Rolleston Miller-White, just five days previously it is heavily suggested that he should accompany her but given her precious engagement to Reginald Highmount and her parents have a low opinion of Miller-White it doesn’t bode well, especially with Kate able to see spirits and Miller-White a chief suspect as the potential spy in the camp. Throw in a doctor and a former soldier broken by the war and under his care, the daughter of the Highmount’s and a handful of staff and the gathering, or at least those that are known about, is complete.
As Donovan operates under the guise of being Captain Miller-White’s ‘man’ he is secretly charged with ensuring the safety of Lord Highmount and identifying the threat to country. Ably assisted in his deductive efforts by Kate, Donovan soon discovers that all of the invited guests have some reason for feeling ill disposed of Lord Highmount, with much of it related to his involvement in arming the nation. The motivation of each for feelings of animosity towards Lord Highmount are credible and entirely understandable and likewise the motivation for procuring the top secret plans and thereby assisting the enemy. An array of clues and red herrings lead Donovan and Kate closer to the answers they seek but with one unconscious and one dead amongst the house party guests it is a race against time.. But Kate and Donovan soon suspect they have an intruder in their midst and a potential accomplice lying in wait.. The variety of nefarious shenanigans on the island are highly engaging and uncovering the high jinks, which parties are in cahoots and those indulging in blackmail is well-conveyed but given its many complications perhaps a little distended with the potential to risk becoming confusing. With the raging storm, howling winds and treacherous sea making a crossing to the mainland an impossibility Blackwater Abbey is effectively cut off from outside assistance and together with direct attempts to sabotage making contact via the with telephone or attempting to utilise the launch, the chances of ascertaining outside help are all but negligible.
The double act of Kate and Donovan and their growing mutual admiration and warmth towards each other add a feel good element and jest to the unfolding drama. Undoubtedly it is their chemistry which oils the wheels as together with the elaborate explanations of who knew about various secrets passages and the convoluted process of elimination as to the whereabouts of all members of the party on numerous occasions the novel has the potential to be a little turgid and dry. I loved the tame nature of the Kate and Donovan romance (mischievous smiles, raised eyebrows, gentle repartee and innuendo) and thought it was wonderful because it was based on each other’s sharp intellect, courage and willingness to take calculated risks all in the spirit of the war effort. It was a pleasure to find a smart, sensible and feisty young woman just as capable, if not more, than her male counterparts.
Whilst I found the novel to be a light-hearted wartime romp and an engaging story I sadly found it lacking in atmosphere and genuine suspense. Given the abundance of spirits and meaningful reasons for ill feeling towards Lord Highmount and his own sense of culpability I had anticipated a palpable sense of unease which never quite transpired and it was only at the dining table and séance on the final evening that the undercurrents of tension between the group made themselves fully apparent. Likewise, given the prevalence of ghosts in the story was far in excess of any others novels I have read I was expecting a commensurate increase in claustrophobic tension, which also never materialised. Almost everybody in the house seemed to either know or learn in relatively short order that Donovan was on the island with the express mission of protecting Lord Highmount and was being assisted in some capacity by Miss Cartwright and so there really wasn’t much hush-hush about their efforts to identify the spy in their midst! Furthermore I wasn’t particularly won over by the numerous secret passageways, trapdoors and priests holes as my preference, in the “fair game” spirit of the locked room mystery, is for these to be strictly limited and keeping track of the architecture of the house is definitely not the most exciting part of the mystery.
Aside from the entertaining mystery element the novel does make readily apparent the enormous cost in terms of loss of life in a war in which the mental wounds were every bit as profound as the physical, with even those that did make it home alive bearing the mental scars. All told this is an engaging and spirited read with a well-worked mystery at its core and an unusual mash-up of an light-hearted espionage story set in house full of ghosts. William Ryan, however, does a stellar job of painting a picture of a grim and unremitting campaign that left very few, regardless of class, untouched by its brutality.
With thanks to Readers First who provided me with a free copy of this novel in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.